Internationally, Umeå University cooperates with others on many levels: between researchers, through student exchanges, but also directly with other higher education institutions. Working with others around the world on education and research is in our academic DNA. It gives us new perspectives and strengthens the quality of our work.
Umeå University has student exchange agreements with almost 900 higher education institutions. We are also part of several comprehensive international cooperation programmes, including MIRAI and SASUF. The former, which the Pro-Vice-Chancellor wrote about in a blog post in November, is a partnership between 11 Swedish and nine Japanese universities. This autumn, Umeå University will host the annual MIRAI conference. SASUF – the South Africa Sweden University Forum – is a bilateral programme in which 14 Swedish universities and all 26 South African universities cooperate on global challenges and sustainability.
Hans Adolfsson, Vice-Chancellor
Photo: Mattias Pettersson
This year's SASUF Research and Innovation Week took place at the end of March. It was the first time members of the programme got to meet each other face-to-face since the pandemic. A delegation of about 200 Swedish researchers and students travelled to the University of Western Cape outside of Cape Town for the three-day Sustainable Forum, which was preceded by 40-odd workshops held around the country.
I myself was part of a University Management delegation that first visited the universities of Pretoria and Johannesburg and then travelled on to Cape Town. We sat down with our South African counterparts to discuss the challenges and opportunities for additional cooperation between our two countries in the field of higher education and research. South Africa is very keen to cooperate more closely with Swedish universities. This is reflected by the fact that SASUF is the largest strategic partnership that exists between our countries (Sweden's ambassador to South Africa, Håkan Juholt, also calls it the most important). During our meetings with representatives of South African university managements, we also discussed issues related to leadership.
Leadership was a recurring theme at the European University Association (EUA) ’s General Assembly and conference, which was arranged by Gdansk University of Technology in Poland this year. I participated in the final panel discussion, during which we reflected on the importance of leadership to help universities achieve their education, research, collaboration and innovation goals. At the meeting, Josep M. Garrell was elected the EUA’s new President, while Astrid Söderbergh Widding, Stockholm University’s Vice-Chancellor, joined the EUA’s board. The EUA is a key organisation that actively strengthens the position of universities in Europe, so it is excellent news that there is now a Swede on the association’s board.
Given the current widespread global uncertainty and geopolitical tension, it is more important than ever for us to engage in international forums. But with what is happening in the world right now, and the war raging so close to home, we as teachers, researchers and students also need to be aware of the risks that international partnerships, recruitment and exchanges can entail. The Association of Swedish Higher Education Institutions (SUHF) and the Swedish Foundation for International Cooperation in Research and Higher Education (STINT) have each drafted recommendations on how to engage in international collaboration. My advice is to keep these guidelines in mind and make sure to keep abreast of current affairs.